ARMY AL&T
“We use that muscle sitting on top of your shoulders, no concussions in the sport of robotics. Earn a scholarship, internship or apprenticeship. Then you can turn pro on day one."
education and the cultivation of a passion for STEM fields designed to inspire those like Estanislao, and the next generation(s) of our future workforce. Teaming up with the DEVCOM Armaments Center to secure sponsorship from Picatinny Arse- nal, Hofmann said, would foster growth for Fabric8 and, at the same time, aid the arsenal’s STEM office goals and objectives.
Picatinny Arsenal has long supported outreach events to encourage students to pursue careers in STEM. FIRST Robot- ics Competition and Team Aperture 3142 have been sponsored by the arse- nal’s largest organization, the DEVCOM Armaments Center and DOD STEM, since 2009, initiated under the late Col. Edward Petersen’s mentorship and control and making it the first and oldest Pica- tinny STEM-sponsored team.
Since the program’s inception, Team Aper- ture 3142 has received about $5,000 in DOD funding each year—more if the team advances to the world competition. For Fabric8 to be considered for similar funding, Hofmann would need to submit a proposal to DEVCOM headquarters, which would determine which teams are approved for funding through federal
grants. Currently, Hofmann is in the final stages of legally establishing Fabric8 as a nonprofit in the state of New Jersey, which he said is a slow process. Once finalized, plans can move forward.
FIRST Robotics operates under two grants. One from DEVCOM DOD STEM (Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering/Office of Basic Research, which provides FIRST Robotics with funding for tools, services and travel for competitions) and one from Picatinny STEM (which provides mentor- ing support to engineers, scientists or others in FIRST Robotics teams in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania).
DEVCOM Armaments Center currently supports approximately 1,500 teams with a budget for FIRST Robotics estimated at $250,000, which includes mentor- ing. Estanislao is one of 60 professionals supporting the 2023-2024 season, Stacey Yauch is another.
“When I was first approached by a fellow DEVCOM AC mentor who was encourag- ing me to become involved with robotics, I honestly dismissed it,” said Yauch, a chem- ical engineer at the Armaments Center
IT TAKES TEAMWORK
Members of Team Aperture 3142 posing in front of their STEM barn at the New Jersey State Fair, held at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, New Jersey, Aug. 4-12, 2023. From left is Ryan Wuitik, Salvador Serillo, Hunter DeMartin, Rachel Porzilli and Andreana DeMartin. (Photo provided by Caitlin Bailey, mentor and 2018 team captain, Team Aperture 3142)
who has been mentoring FIRST Robot- ics Competition Team Aperture 3142 (ages 14-18, grades 9-12) since 2013. “I thought, ‘What can robotics do?’ Ten I went to a FRC [FIRST Robotics] competition and was overwhelmed by what I saw and was immediately hooked.”
As she became more involved in the program, she said it became very evident that the robot was a tool for kids to learn not only about science and technology, but to learn to work together, to communi- cate effectively, to learn from mistakes, to continue to improve and to never give up. “Helping the kids realize what they are capable of is why I continue to mentor,” she said.
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